No Reins
by DoingTheUnstuck
Summary: "Like a painted wild mustang, flyin' out across the open range, finally gets to live her life that way." Based off Rascal Flatts' 'No Reins'


Hello my lovelies! NEW STORY TIME YAY! Except it's only a one shot..ehh whatever. I'll update my other story sometime..later..heheh…anywhoo, thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them 3

And without further ado, THE STORY!

-Millie

* * *

She really can't remember how it got like this.

She can't pinpoint the exact moment when things shifted and everything turned around in the worst way.

Looking back, it could have been around their three month mark. They'd been together long enough to be comfortable around each other and she thought she knew him. Hell, she thought she knew herself.

But apparently, she was wrong. Suddenly, nothing was good enough for him. _She _wasn't good enough for him.

And that's where the problem lies.

* * *

Everything she does is wrong. The things she does for him are pathetic. Her songs aren't good, she's untalented, and the people she hangs out with are just _unacceptable. _

Her clothes are all wrong for her, she doesn't wear enough makeup, and she's not skinny enough. Other times, she wears too much makeup and she's too busy trying to get skinny to spend time with him. Or she spends too much time with those friends of hers and doing the things she enjoys, which is also wrong. She shouldn't be wasting her time writing crap songs for her crappy friends. She should be spending time with _him,_ doing things for _him, _living and breathing for _him._

* * *

Ally sighs as his stern lecturing pierces through her ears. It's the second time today he's yelled at her for being herself (which is a mistake, she shouldn't be her, she should be who he tells her to be).

Quite frankly, she's sick of it. Sick of the yelling and criticism. Sick of not being good enough. Sick of this entire relationship. But somehow, she keeps telling herself he yells because he loves her. He just wants her to be the best she can be so she can be happy.

Though, it's awfully hard to be happy when you don't even know who you are anymore.

* * *

It didn't used to be so hard. In the beginning of their relationship, Dallas was the sweetest guy. He took her places, complimented her constantly, got along with her friends, and bought her presents. Hell, he was even supportive of her and Austin's partnership and career.

Then, things started to get _ugly. _He began to nitpick everything she did. From how much she ate on dates to the way she looked to the way she spent time with her friends. He didn't approve of her spending that much time with Austin. He thought Trish and Dez were bad influences.

At first, she fought back. She was never one to take that kind of shit from people, especially with years of being Trish's best friend under her belt. But, as time wore on, she grew tired of fighting back. She realized it was just easier to sit there and take it. If she changed who she was, he would be happy and wouldn't yell. She wasn't submitting, she told herself. She was just compromising for the sake of her relationship.

* * *

Her friends noticed the change right away. They noticed how her clothes were getting too big on her and how skinny she was becoming. They noticed the forced laughs and smiles. They noticed her pulling away from them and spending more time with Dallas and his friends.

Trish didn't want to speak up and say anything. She knew it was Ally's life and Ally would choose her own relationships, no matter how unhappy she seemed. Dez agreed, knowing Ally would fight back against them and deny any change happening in her. Though they were genuinely concerned, they felt it was not their place to say anything.

Austin, however, was not so accommodating. He couldn't believe the way Ally just submitted to Dallas' whims. And he couldn't believe the way that Trish and Dez were just watching this happen to their best friend.

This just led to fights between the four of them. Austin would comment on the way Dallas treated Ally during their Team Austin meetings. Ally would snap back and tell him to stay out of her business. The screaming match always started right after that when Austin would say how _she _is his business.

Then, he would get Trish and Dez involved by yelling how they are submitting to this as well. The four of them would scream until Ally stormed out to meet up with Dallas, leaving her three best friends staring after her with concern. They wouldn't hang out all too much, just when Dallas was at sports practice or doing something else. Ally would never tell him exactly what she was up to. The strain on the four's friendship became greater and Ally's silence spoke volumes.

* * *

For the umpteenth time that day, Ally sighed. She had just gotten into a fight with Trish, who had finally burst and yelled for 'her Ally' to come back. The Latina and songwriter yelled for what seemed forever about Ally's relationship, ending with Ally storming off once again.

On top of that, she hadn't seen Austin all week, Dez started crying from all the fighting, and Dallas had called her to pick him up at some gas station one hour outside of Miami. She had no idea why he was there or why he needed to be picked up but she didn't question it. She never questioned it.

Ally pulled into the parking lot and saw Dallas leaning back on some car, surrounded by what looked like low-lifes and underdressed girls. As Dallas made his way over to her, he noticed the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Ally, baby, what happened?" He asked, running his hand down her cheek. She shivered, not from how good his touch felt (because, frankly, it just felt _wrong_) but from the mix of alcohol and marijuana she could smell on his breath.

"Nothing…I just…got into a little fight with Trish…and the guys haven't talked to me all week.." She said quietly, not meeting his eyes. She felt his hand drop from her face and looked up to see his eyes darken.

"That's it, Allyson, those friends are no good for you. From this point on, you are to not see them. You hear me? They're bad influences. All they do is demand from you and make you cry. They don't deserve you." Dallas said, menacingly.

Ally furrowed her eyebrows and stared at him with an incredulous look on her face. Suddenly, something inside of her finally snapped. "Are you kidding me right now?! No-don't actually answer that. You can't tell me what to do. You're not in charge of my life!" As she screamed, she realized something.

"You…you're not in charge of me. I'm in charge of me…" She trailed off, her eyes widening at her realization. Dallas stared at her for a second, then raised a hand once more to cradle her face and said, "Ally, baby, I know you're upset. But that's because of those low-lifes you call friends. Believe me, once you're rid of them, you'll feel much better."

Ally smacked his hand off of her face and became angry. "NO. You can't tell me what to do. Not anymore. YOU are the reason my friends have been fighting with me. All they want is what's best for me! And that is NOT you. I can't believe I didn't realize it before…you don't own me. You're bad for me and you're the low-life. We're over. And you know what? I've always hated when you called me baby."

With that, the petite brunette stormed back to her Mustang and started it up. Not waiting for Dallas to move, she revved the engine and flew out of the parking lot, leaving _the_ _loser in a dust cloud. _Shedding one last tear, she pulled her Aviators over her eyes and picked up speed.

Flying down the dirt road, she's never felt freer. She laughed, realizing how stupid it may have sounded. _It's nice to hear that..my laugh..my real laugh…_And suddenly, she felt like the namesake of her car. _Like a painted wild mustang, flyin' out across the open range, finally gets to live her life that way. No fear, no fences, nobody-no reins. _

* * *

Ally knew she should go see her friends and apologize for her behavior. But first, she wanted to just be free for once. She pulled up next to the sand and kicked her shoes off. Running through the sand, she threw her arms up and felt like she was flying. She jumped into the clear blue ocean water, fully clothed.

After she came up for air, she heard a familiar voice say, "You know, you look like a crazy person, laughing and jumping in the ocean fully clothed like that."

Ally looked up to see Austin staring at her with a bemused smile on his face. Behind him, she made out the forms of Trish and Dez running to join them. Smiling, she said, "Yeah, I know. But I really don't care anymore. As long as I'm free, I don't care. Though, I have been acting kinda crazy lately. But in the bad way."

"Yeah, you have been crazy. And an asshole, actually. So, where's Dallas anyway?" Trish joined in, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh you know, being an idiot somewhere else. I kinda left him about an hour outside of town at a random gas station. But, I really couldn't care less. He can do whatever he wants-and so can I, finally."

The three friends eyes widened for a second until Dez let out a loud whoop and embraced Ally in a bear hug. Trish was next to join them. Austin just stood off to the side, observing the group hug. The trio released each other and turned to Austin with raised eyebrows, wondering why he didn't join in.

He answered their questioning gazes by stalking over to Ally and planting a kiss squarely on her lips. Shocked at first, Ally stood still until her arms wound around his neck and she reciprocated his actions. Feeling Austin's grin, the brunette split apart from him and their foreheads stayed resting on each other. They could hear Trish and Dez's loud cheering behind them but they didn't care.

"You know, I've been wanting to do that for quite some time." Austin told her, staring straight into her brown orbs. Ally's mouth curled into a smile and she answered, "You know, since I'm seeing a little more clearly, I think I've been wanting you to do that. Thanks-for everything."

And suddenly, she didn't feel so held back anymore. After breaking free from her reins and having her best friends next to her, she's learning how to let go and be herself.

* * *

Ugh.

This sucked.

Don't judge. Well, do judge. But constructively. Bleh this sucks. But whatever! BYE PLOT BUNNIES!


End file.
